The AP story said that the government set up the panel in response to concerns from The Japan Federation of the Blind. An informal survey of 52 blind people carried out by the group revealed that more than half the respondents were “terrified” of hybrids.

A Japanese newspaper reported Tuesday that the sounds may be available on Toyota cars sold in 2010, possibly in conjunction with radar technology to sense nearby pedestrians and activate the noise when necessary.

A few weeks ago, Ford Motor Co. quietly announced that it was rolling out a new wrinkle to the powerful safety feature called stability control, adding even more lifesaving potential to a technology that has already been very successful.

A well-known automotive consultant who did an extensive teardown of BMW’s i3 all-electric car said its design is groundbreaking in multiple ways. “We’ve torn down about 450 cars, and we’ve never analyzed anything like this before.”

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